April weather in region cooler, drier than average

The National Weather Service office in Paducah reports that temperatures averaged below normal by around 2 to 3 degrees during April in Southern Illinois, Southeast Missouri and Western Kentucky.

Paducah recorded below normal temperatures on 20 of the final 22 days of the month.

The last subfreezing temperatures of the month occurred between April 15th and 18th across the region, which was around 1 to 2 weeks later than average. 

In Paducah, a record low temperature of 29 degrees was tied on April 15.

Local weather observer Dana Cross recorded a low temperature of 27 degrees on April 15 in Jonesboro.

The warmest temperatures occurred on April 8 as highs soared into the mid 80s, breaking records at a few locations.

In Cape Girardeau, a record high temperature of 85 degrees was tied on April 8.

A high temperature of 85 degrees was recorded April 8 in Jonesboro.

April was drier than normal across the vast majority of the region, which was a welcome change given the wet pattern which the region has experienced for the past two-plus years.

Rainfall amounts ranged from 2 to 4 inches in most locations, which was 1 to 2 inches below normal. 

Precipitation in Jonesboro totalled 2.23 inches for April.

A few locations closer to the Ohio River in Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky received less than 2 inches for the entire month. 

On the flip side, the wettest locations were along the periphery of the area, including the far eastern counties of western Kentucky from Daviess south to Todd and also along the I-64 corridor of Southern Illinois. 

Some of this area finished wetter than normal, with the highest observed amount of 6.26 inches occurring in the Mount Vernon area.

April is typically near the peak of the region’s severe weather season, but this year it was a rather quiet month. 

The only noteworthy event of the month occurred on April 8, when several areas received large hail measuring 1.75 to 2.25 inches in diameter.